Hardly a Stir When Starbucks Denied a Cop

Kudos for Sheriff David Clarke for reminding us of the double standard practiced by the self-righteous guardians of social justice such as Starbucks, who flagellate themselves in public over the injustice of denying non-paying patrons use of their facilities – patrons who happen to be black:

    "Not too long ago a Philadelphia Starbucks refused to let a police officer use the restroom telling him it was for paying customers.  Don't remember Starbucks closing 8000 stores for sensitivity training toward police."

In 2015, an unnamed Philadelphia police sergeant entered a downtown Philadelphia Starbucks and asked to use the restroom.  He might have been the one who would have responded if that Starbucks were being robbed or its employees or customers were assaulted.  He was told in no uncertain terms that he could not and should find a restroom down the street.  The unnamed officer's story was posted on Facebook by Joe Leighthardt, another Philadelphia officer:

    So I walk into the Starbucks at 13th and Chestnut in full uniform and ask the young blonde liberal behind the counter if I could use their public bathroom for which you need a key code and she states, in a loud voice so all the other customers can hear that the bathroom is for paying customers only. I then ask in a very polite manner if I could please use it. She then states in the same loud manner and a smirk "Are you a paying customer?" It was at this point that I realized what she was doing. As I walked out with my hand up and while she continued loudly to tell me about the bathroom down the street, I was even more astonished that the many customers and other employees said nothing and seemed indifferent. This is the world cops live in anymore. It's hip for this generation to berate and totally disrespect cops in front of the public and praise cop killers as the heroes of they're [sic] time. I never post things but I hope my fellow brothers and sisters in blue see this and know that we have each other… and not to patronize that Starbucks.

Starbucks did somewhat apologize for the incident, but there was no national mea culpa by the executive officers of Starbucks or the shutting down of its 8,000 stores and turning them into temporary re-education camps for employees who for the most part probably don't have a biased bone in their bodies and who depend on police for their safety inside and outside their stores.

Officer Leighthardt noted as much:

    In the post, Leighthardt‎ wrote, "Thought you world like to know this happened at your 1301 Chestnut St in Philadelphia.  In a time when police are being made the enemy, Your clerk pulls this nonsense.  And might I point out, this store is a frequent caller to police for some sort of service." ...

    "No one is asking for special treatment, but when your 'office' is a police car and you're running from job to job in Philadelphia, I'd he supposed to hold in?  Pee on the sidewalk?  I'll bet your job has a bathroom within 100 yards," Leighthardt wrote.  "Cops don't.  And this particular Starbucks calls the police several times a week for things as simple as someone sitting on the bench outside their property."

We live in a world where black lives matter but blue lives matter not so much.  Just ask the families of the two Florida police officers gunned down while having lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

    Two Florida sheriff's deputies were shot and killed while eating in a restaurant Thursday afternoon by an attacker found dead outside shortly after, police said[.] ...

    "I don't have answers to why this happened," Gilchrist County Sheriff Robert Schultz said at a news briefing.Schultz identified the slain officers as Sgt. Noel Ramirez, 30, a seven-year law enforcement veteran, and Deputy Taylor Lindsey, 25, a three-year law law [sic] enforcement veteran.  Schultz said Ramirez had children and was married, while Lindsey was not married but had a girlfriend. ...

    "We're not going to make this a political issue, other than the fact: What do you expect happens when you demonize law enforcement to the extent that it's been demonized?" Schultz asked.  "Every type of hate, every type of putdown that you can think of.  The only thing these men were guilty of was wanting to protect you and me."

Closing 8,000 stores is a big financial hit, money that could have been spent to help inner-city kids get an education, or a meal, or clothes for school or to fight gang crime and drugs:

    The closures cost the company an estimated $6 million, according to Schultz's 2011 book "Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul."  However, Schultz maintained that it was worth the financial cost and the mockery the company endured to put Starbucks back on the road to recovery.

Self-survival and political correctness are prime motivators for Starbucks, but not the indignity and disrespect shown a Philadelphia officer in 2015.  No grandiose mea culpas, no mass closings, and no employee re-education.  Starbucks's social conscience did not extend to those who risk their lives for the safety of its employees and customers.

SOURCE






Bavaria Places Christian Crosses in State Buildings to Reflect 'Christian Values'

The government of Bavaria has ordered that Christian crosses be placed in the entrances of all its public buildings, a rule that goes into effect on June 1, reported BBC News.

Markus Soder, the minister president of Bavaria and member of the Christian Social Union political party, said the crosses are not to be viewed as state-sanctioned religious symbols but as a "clear avowal of our Bavarian identity and Christian values."

Crosses already are compulsory in Bavaria's public school classrooms and in courtrooms.

Bavaria is located in the southeast corner of Germany and its largest city is Munich.

"The cross is a fundamental symbol of our Bavarian identity and way of life," said President Soder in a statement, as reported by the BBC. "It stands for elemental values such as charity, human dignity and tolerance."

Jan Korte, the head of a left-wing group in the federal parliament, accoridng to the BBC, said, "Why can the CSU never think of anything that brings people together, instead of trying to divide the country at every level."

Bavaria's population is a little more than 12.6 million and about 52% of Bavarians are Catholic. About 20% of Bavarians are Protestant, 4% Muslim, and less than 1% Jewish. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) was born in Bavaria.

SOURCE






Norway to consider banning 'annoying and inappropriate' Muslim call to prayer

A Norwegian politician says he 'doesn't give a toss' about human rights, mosques should be banned from broadcasting the call to prayer.

Jon Helgheim, immigration spokesman for Progress Party, part of Oslo's ruling two-party coalition, said the country's residents needed 'peace and quiet'.

He rejected arguments that banning the religious announcement being played over loudspeakers would violate the European Convention on Human Rights. 'I don't give a toss what human rights provisions say in this case,' he told Vårt Land.

'What I care about is that people get peace and quiet in their neighbourhoods, and that means not being disturbed by the call to prayer. 'If there are conflicting provisions in the Convention on Human Rights, I simply don't care, because it's completely stupid.'

Previous pushes, including by former Progress Party leader Carl Hagen, were scuttled by the Ministry of Justice citing the Convention. Article 9 enshrines the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion in all signatory countries including Norway.

The party's local branch in Buskerud county, west of Oslo, used the same argument but in reverse in its proposal to ban the call to prayer.

'In several places in the country have now established regulations under which mosques have permission to issue the call to prayer over loudspeakers,' it claimed, according to The Local Norway.

'A great many people perceive this as annoying and inappropriate. In Norway we have freedom of religion, which should also include the right not to be exposed to public calls to prayer.'

The Buskerud county proposal will be voted on at the anti-immigration party's national meeting this weekend, deciding whether to make it formal policy.

Despite allegations that mosques were planning to broadcast the call to prayer, neither newspaper could find any evidence of this.

Over the border, the Fittja mosque in southern Stockholm began issuing the call to prayer on Fridays, and last year a mosque in Karlskrona got permission to broadcast all five calls a day.

SOURCE





Australia: Hero dad or playground villain? Father who tried to CHOKE his step-daughter's 15-year-old bully reveals the final insult that pushed him over the edge

A father who tried to choke his daughter's 15-year-old bully has revealed the final taunt that pushed him over the edge.

Mark Bladen, 53, was giving the boy a 'good old fashioned talking to' when the boy smiled at him, making the father's blood boil.

'Dr Jekyll came out,' he said of the moment he snapped at The Gap skate park in Brisbane last month, recalling the event in a 60 Minutes preview ahead of Sunday's full episode.

His daughter claimed the child had relentlessly bullied her by calling her names and giving her insulting gifts.

'(He) called me names like gorilla and King Kong, he would buy me shaving cream for Christmas so that I would shave,' she told reporter Liz Hayes.

Bladen explained he intended on giving the boy a 'good old fashioned talking to' on the day he ended up physically assaulting him.

'(But) he smiled at me,' the man said, alluding to the moment that pushed him over the edge and into a violent rage.

Chilling footage showed the moment the grown man threw himself towards the boy, who was sitting on a bench at the time, as one of his friends yelled 'get the f*** off him'.

Friends of the father have since praised him for sticking up for his 'princess', with one saying he hoped he 'would do it again'.

'He's got to stand up for his family,' one member of Chermside Darts Club said, as another agreed, saying, 'I would hope that he would do it again, to be honest.'

A woman, believed to be the mother of the bullying victim, defended the father saying, 'he did what any parent would do'.

Mr Bladen pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and was sentenced on March 20 to pay $1000 with no conviction recorded, and ordered to pay $500 compensation.

His victim suffered bruising to his throat and scratches to his limbs in the fight, which was eventually broken up by his friends. 

Mr Bladen told police he was 'aghast' at his behaviour, and apologised outside court to the victim.

'I'm very sorry for what I did, very regretful and ashamed,' he said. 'Please don't do what I did, I just lost control. It's definitely not the way to handle things,' he said.

In his interview, Mr Bladen said he thought there was too much 'political correctness' evident in current society.

'When I was young you treated a lady like a lady and it should be the same way now,' he said.

'We live in a day of political correctness, and I hate it.'

SOURCE 

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here.  Email me (John Ray) here. 

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